Attorney General Eric Holder announced a strategy today to disrupt American extremists from joining terrorist groups, including those drawn to conflicts in Syria and Iraq, reports USA Today. “We have established processes for detecting American extremists who attempt to join terror groups abroad,” Holder said in a video message on the Justice Department’s website. “And we have engaged in extensive outreach to communities here in the U.S. – so we can work with them to identify threats before they emerge, to disrupt homegrown terrorists, and to apprehend would-be violent extremists.”
Holder said Justice was joining the White House, Department of Homeland Security and the National Counterterrorism Center to help local community leaders, including public safety and religious leaders, identify those who may be seeking to join jihadist movements abroad. U.S. officials estimate that more than 100 Americans have attempted to join fighting in the Syrian civil war, many of them aligned with the so-called violent ISIS group, who have claimed responsibility for the decapitations of two American journalists in recent weeks and have threatened to launch strikes against U.S. interests. The White House will host a ‘Countering Violent Extremism’ summit next month.